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Half of IT Workers Sleep on the Job

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the checking-eyelids-for-leaks dept.

Stony Stevenson writes "According to a new online survey by Harris Interactive, more than half of IT workers say they've fallen asleep at work, while nearly half of techies also are apparently in the mood for love. Forty-seven percent of tech pros admit they've kissed a co-worker, according to the online survey of 5,700 U.S. workers, including 163 techies. The survey didn't indicate if those work taboos were committed by the same respondents, but in both cases, men were more likely to admit doing both. Forty-nine percent of male techies say they've fallen asleep at work, while only 35 percent of women admitted doing so."

69 of 431 comments (clear)

  1. zzzz...... by MaineCoon · · Score: 5, Funny

    er, huh, whu? I'm sorry, were you saying something?

    --
    Hunt your preferred prey at Aliens vs Predator MUD. Join the war at avpmud.com port 4000
    1. Re:zzzz...... by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wake me up when the log gets to 100 comments or so zzzzzzzzzz

      --
      Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
    2. Re:zzzz...... by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, I was too busy kissing my coworker. Too bad they are all male. I guess we do have a female office manager, she is the only one, but does that mean 47% of my coworkers have kissed her? Ew can we end this conversation already?

      --
      Qxe4
    3. Re:zzzz...... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

      That strange noise from the PC underneath the desk wasn't a worn out fan. :P

    4. Re:zzzz...... by RuBLed · · Score: 5, Funny

      setting threshold to +3

    5. Re:zzzz...... by Stripe7 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yes, falling asleep on the job is one half of the equation, working 12-18 hour days or being on call 24/7 is the other side of the equation. I was at EBay once and saw people with sleeping bags under their desks as well as watched a father singing a lullaby's to his kid over the phone because something blew up and work needed to be done.

    6. Re:zzzz...... by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 4, Funny

      They got sleeping bags? Pussies.

      I can't imagine an "I slept at work" scenario in my job that didn't involve obscene overtime and after hours work. Where the hell would you find time? Where the hell do people get these JOBS?

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    7. Re:zzzz...... by driftingwalrus · · Score: 5, Funny

      Clearly this points to an epidemic of sleep-kissing in the workplace!

      --
      Paul Anderson
      "I drank WHAT?!" -- Socrates
    8. Re:zzzz...... by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 5, Funny

      They got sleeping bags? Pussies.

      Exactly. Ingrates. All we get where I work is a box or rocks, and I don't mean those smoothe river rocks, I'm talking those sharp crushed rocks. And we're not allowed to actually sleep n them, we can only look at them.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    9. Re:zzzz...... by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2, Funny

      I thought the Seinfeld episode where George turns his desk into a bed was inspirational.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    10. Re:zzzz...... by OriginalArlen · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I usually have a 5 - 10 minute nap at my desk after lunch. It's perfectly normal and natural, I refuse to be apologetic about it (even after co-workers stuck postit notes on me, took pics and stuck them on the noticeboard *) ) and anyone who doesn't like it can piss off. Luckily the war between workers and management at my employer is at a happy state of silent truce; we slog our guts out to help the boss buy a new Bentley, they don't fire us for minor infractions of rules. (I work in security and I've argued several times against aggressively trying to prevent people listening to music. What's the point? We can only manage with the consent of the managed...)

      --

      Everything I needed to know about life, I learnt from Blake's Seven
    11. Re:zzzz...... by Torvaun · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, it means that 47% of IT workers consider LCD monitors to be coworkers.

      --
      I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
    12. Re:zzzz...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      You get to use your imagination? Dear lord, I wish we could. All we get is a bunch of angry mole people that poke us with sharp pencils and hot pokers.

    13. Re:zzzz...... by StarfishOne · · Score: 3, Funny
      Male coworker.. female office manager... Ross? Moss? Is that you? :D

      (reference hint)

    14. Re:zzzz...... by ubrgeek · · Score: 2, Funny

      When I was a kid, we had to walk uphill both ways in the snow to kiss a co-worker.

      --
      Bark less. Wag more.
    15. Re:zzzz...... by syntaxglitch · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In France, we often do work less than 40 hours a week. Less work also means better productivity. There surely is a "balancing point", but if it exist, it is different for every person, and is not constant with the time.

      Believe it or not, there is actual research done on this--not that anyone ever pays attention to the results. If I recall correctly, it boils down to something like this:

      - Productivity is low for the first 1-3 hours of a day as people get into the swing of things
      - Daily productivity mostly goes up, but drops toward the end of the day (possibly because people are consciously "winding down")
      - Productivity per worker hour peaks somewhere around a 30-hour week.
      - Total sustainable productivity per week peaks at around a 45-hour week.
      - Around 50 hours and up, fatigue builds up over time until burnout kicks in. Sustained work weeks of 50 hours are likely to be getting less TOTAL WORK done than sustained 35-hour weeks.
      - Work weeks of around 80 hours are sustainable for maybe a week or so before catastrophic loss of total productivity occurs
      - Anything much more than 80 hours likely results in immediately LOWER productivity, as fatigued workers make mistakes that take more time to fix than the extra hours provide.

      From this, one can conclude that European schedules are more likely to maximize individual productivity (more work per hour), while American schedules are more likely to maximize organizational productivity (more work per person). One can also conclude that any manager who demands sustained work weeks of 50 hours or more is incompetent and a fool; the management equivalent of the kind of programmer who creates so many bugs he provides a net negative productivity to the team.

      In practice, actual work hours are lower than they appear; most salaried workers are prone to finding numerous ways to not work while at work, largely because in many office environments physical presence is seen as more important than actual productivity.

      I suspect the best balancing point would be something like four 9-hour workdays per week. Longer days to minimize the productivity drain of mornings, but a shorter total work week to allow occasional bursts of extra effort without creating long-term burnout.

    16. Re:zzzz...... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Try typing 'google' into Google and see...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  2. Not always due to laziness or lack of work... by dada21 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have an older employee who handles some contracts (hourly) that has a tendency to fall asleep. He's within a decade or less of retirement, and we've caught him napping a few times in recent months (as has the customer he's usually working at). We've talked, and it definitely seems like there's a medical issue here, so it leaves us with having to just compensate the customer for any billable time where he has fallen asleep. We've considered moving him to an internal job, but he's really good at the tasks he leads, and he also works very hard otherwise. The customer is also understanding because they have realized that his productive time more than compensates for his napping time, but there's always a fear that the contract could expire over this particular issue.

    I'm sure most of the people polled here are younger, but it's definitely not just a laziness issue.

    1. Re:Not always due to laziness or lack of work... by Seumas · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Of course, for every nap on the job, I suspect there are a half dozen sleepless nights where an engineer had to cover for an emergency, fix something, help with a high priority client, fly somewhere for an urgent fix, cover a sick employee or return from vacation early. Sorry, but I don't feel guilty if I take a nap here and there when I also often work double shifts, put in seven day weeks (sometimes multiple weeks in a row), cover for staff shortages, log in remotely while on vacation in a hotel, from the family house on thanksgiving, from my home at 3am. . .

      Just people trying to offer more excuses as to why they need to outsource jobs overseas, because of incompetent, undereducated, lazy American employees.

    2. Re:Not always due to laziness or lack of work... by DaveCar · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do whet they used to do with the people who would oversee production of nitroglycerin - give him a stool with two legs.

  3. I Believe It by MrCrassic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Funny that I was just about to do an AskSlash about this issue because I was starting to get concerned.

    It's been very difficult for me to stay up or want to stay up at the current internship that I'm in, which involves writing software for a corporate firm. While the job itself can be stimulating and logically challenging at times, sometimes I feel like I just have a hard time really concentrating on anything. It's not so much the environment; most of the people that work with me are very active in talking about their roles and responsibilities (most conversations either directly involve or segway into this). Actually, I'm not really sure what it is.

    I really like to be mobile and move around in my jobs, but I am devoid of needing to do that for this. My main job is to sit down and review/rewrite/create code. I've never done this before, so maybe I'm just not accustomed to needing to look at a computer screen for 8.5+ hours every business day.

    In general, IT jobs can have some physical downtime; it's just inevitable. As for kissing co-workers, I would presume that this is more prominent in corporate environments because the physical quality of the girls are MUCH better than those of more research-oriented or specialized firms (forgive me if I've insulted anyone). I know that there are several women at my job that I would love to take out to dinner sometime, but it can be difficult dealing with a formidable age gap as an intern in a pretty established department...

    Good article.

    1. Re:I Believe It by Original+Replica · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I really like to be mobile and move around in my jobs, but I am devoid of needing to do that for this. My main job is to sit down and review/rewrite/create code. I've never done this before, so maybe I'm just not accustomed to needing to look at a computer screen for 8.5+ hours every business day.

      I found out after college, that the realities of a full time job in the field of my major, were mentally exhausting and physically unmoving. So I changed career paths about a year after graduation. If sitting in a chair while looking at a computer screen for 8+ hours a day isn't for you, maybe you should find a different line of work. In the course of your life, you will spend more time at work than will spend with your spouse, you job should be something you enjoy.

      --
      We are all just people.
    2. Re:I Believe It by Anrego · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I`ve long thought that the work day is way to long. 8 hours is just too much time to spend sitting in a chair... or really doing any kind of work.

      I find that after 6 hours, I generally have no capacity to write any serious code, and usually spend the remainder of the day picking at what i`ve written (which is actually probably a good thing, because I find a lot of minor bugs/typos/etc..)

      I find that taking a 5 minute break to walk around the building or even pace around your office every hour or so makes _all_ the difference in the world. I guess it depends on who your working for, but most people I`ve worked for take the attitude that as long as the work load gets taken care of, how you manage your time is your responsibility. If it comes down to it, you could argue it's a health issue (as many medical authorities recommend such breaks for people who sit in front of a computer all the time).

      I can`t say I`ve ever actually fallen asleep on the job... but I`ve definitely had days where I did absolutely nothing. Kind of like sleeping with your eyes open I guess.

      Anyway, just my $.02

    3. Re:I Believe It by hobo+sapiens · · Score: 2, Funny

      "One of the most tediously boring things I've ever had to do was to write Java GUI code."

      Well, I guess that explains why *using* java GUI applications is one of the most tediously boring tasks one can ever perform.

      --
      blah blah blah
    4. Re:I Believe It by aca_broj_1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Shortly after I quit smoking, I realized the same thing. If you smoke regularly, you get the regular hourly ten minute break, once you stop, the breaks stop as well. It took me at least three months to realize that the reason I was less productive was not the post-quitting stress, but in actuality the lack of breaks. I have since started to take hourly breaks no matter what I do, and its made a world of difference.

    5. Re:I Believe It by ynososiduts · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm contemplating dropping out of college and working a blue collar job for the rest of my life. The most enjoyable time in my life was working 8 - 6 at a warehouse and coming home to a nice cooked meal and a caring girlfriend.

      --
      622677120
    6. Re:I Believe It by i.r.id10t · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I work on a college campus, its great. The women I work with all go and exercise at the gym for 45 min or so, all of us guys take a walk a class change time to check out the "scenery". Sorta miss the camel toe craze from a couple of years ago, although there are always hotties out and about...

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
  4. Sounds like techies aren't getting enough sleep. by Vellmont · · Score: 5, Insightful

    sleep debt is a real phenomenon, and if you're falling asleep at work, you've likely got a large amount of it.

    Many people think falling asleep is a sign of "laziness". That's just nonsense, it just means that person needs to get more sleep, or get better quality sleep!

    --
    AccountKiller
  5. Half of IT Workers Sleep on the Job by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yeah, and the other half is here posting on Slashdot!

  6. And 95% of management... by jwiegley · · Score: 5, Funny

    We're counting brain-dead as "asleep", right?

    --
    I will never live for sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.
  7. Bored and horny... by Progman3K · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seems like a dangerous combination.
    Might explain all the buggy sotware, which I always attributed to too much coffee...

    --
    I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
    1. Re:Bored and horny... by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

      >"Might explain all the buggy sotware, which I always attributed to too much coffee..."

      Well, one way to reduce the bug count is to fire the 51% who AREN'T sleeping on the job - they're obviously the ones writing the buggy code!

  8. Overworked and out of our element by DoktorSeven · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Because we are all overworked and thrown out of our natural rhythms. Not everyone is comfortable with getting up at 5AM to go to work; I honestly believe that "morning people" and "night people" exist, and that night people are being abused by being forced to keep the same hours as "morning people".

    And we've come so far technologically and socially but we still have even more demands put on us every day. 40+ hour week can be a bit much if you have tons of other things to do during non-work hours.

    We're supposed to be advancing as a society, not becoming a train wreck. Either pull back on our responsibilities or our work hours, and let us get some rest.

    --
    This is a sig. Deal with it.
    1. Re:Overworked and out of our element by SirSlud · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, it never bothers them that you do. I'm sure some realize it. After 9 years of programming, I have just decided to under promise, over deliver. Lose a contract, or not get promoted? Fuck it, its not worth it. Sanity is worth it. In the end, somebody will pay you for making quality products or providing quality services without having to live at work. So I say it'll be fixed by tomorrow afternoon, and fix it at 10am. They'll be more appreciative, and you got more sleep so you can clock more quality work hours. I like to say that 25% of the skill of a developer is managing expectations. *Technically*, we could write a word processor in assembly on 386, but telling somebody who is responsible for purchasing computer equipment and software tools that is suicide. Having people realize how fucking hard and taxing your job is and how challenging it is to fix things that appear small to a customer or designer is key to keeping people around you happy to provide you the proper environment to kick ass.

      One other thing that people forget is that frequently the problems that crop up that programmers and IT folks have to fix are problems that may not have occurred had the work force been better rested. Near the end of a particular development cycle, we were working 12 to 14 hour shifts 6 or 7 days a week, alternating between folks during the day and folks at night. Near gold, it was basically a team would come in and have to fix the bug caused by the folks the earlier 12 hour shift caused fixing another bug. Everyone was so overworked that nobody could make rational steps towards fixing things properly. Seemed to me that we could have finished off earlier were we not pressed into 'work every hour you're awake' mode for the last 4 weeks. You end up causing problems that you then have to stay up even more hours to fix.

      If your clients dont know when you fix things or do things for them, change that. Send them an email timestamped at 1am when you fix the problem. Mention it offhand when you discuss the resolution of the problem. You'd be surprised how willing people are to compromise or help you change the situation so you don't need to be on call for them 24/7 .. they might cut you some slack on short term hack jobs to create better long term infrastructure, monitoring, fixes, etc.

      --
      "Old man yells at systemd"
    2. Re:Overworked and out of our element by Lonewolf666 · · Score: 2, Informative

      One other thing that people forget is that frequently the problems that crop up that programmers and IT folks have to fix are problems that may not have occurred had the work force been better rested. Near the end of a particular development cycle, we were working 12 to 14 hour shifts 6 or 7 days a week, alternating between folks during the day and folks at night. Near gold, it was basically a team would come in and have to fix the bug caused by the folks the earlier 12 hour shift caused fixing another bug. Everyone was so overworked that nobody could make rational steps towards fixing things properly. Seemed to me that we could have finished off earlier were we not pressed into 'work every hour you're awake' mode for the last 4 weeks. You end up causing problems that you then have to stay up even more hours to fix.

      That is confirmed by lots of studies. A nice summary can be found at http://www.igda.org/articles/erobinson_crunch.php.

      But most managers have obviously never heard of that...
      --
      C - the footgun of programming languages
  9. Perhaps the two are the same by mpickut · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe they just dreamed they were kissing a co-worker.

    "and when I woke up my mouse was all wet..."

    --
    Sigs are for losers.
  10. Sooooo....you ask a bunch of geeks by gandhi_2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    You ask a bunch of geeks if they've kissed a co-worker...and no surprise, over half of them have! Of course, 57% of us are also blackbelts and monster-truck drivers in our spare time. The girls we supposedly kissed? Yeah, they're totally hot. But they live in Idaho, so you wouldn't know them.

    --
    THL phish sticks
    1. Re:Sooooo....you ask a bunch of geeks by nomadic · · Score: 5, Funny

      You ask a bunch of geeks if they've kissed a co-worker...and no surprise, over half of them have! Of course, 57% of us are also blackbelts and monster-truck drivers in our spare time. The girls we supposedly kissed? Yeah, they're totally hot. But they live in Idaho, so you wouldn't know them.

      You're all a bunch of liars who should be ashamed of yourselves. I, on the other hand, learned a little something called integrity and truthfulness back when I was going through astonaut training.

    2. Re:Sooooo....you ask a bunch of geeks by lukas84 · · Score: 3, Funny

      A mail order bride on russia with a 45 year old guy makes you creepy, not cool.

  11. ahhh.. statistics... by RuBLed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Forty-seven percent of tech pros admit they've kissed a co-worker

    Forty-nine percent of male techies say they've fallen asleep at work, while only 35 percent of women admitted doing so.
    Here is the explanation: Since only 49% of the men admitted sleeping at work, the 51% must be up to something. 35% of the women admittend sleeping at work, my best guess is that at least 35% ( +/- 5%) of the men who were awake are kissing women who are sleeping. That leaves us with 16% of the male who were awake and not kissing sleeping women. Since 47% admitted kissing a co-worker (we already know that 35% we're males), it means that 12 % of the women we're kissing some of the sleeping men. (This doesn't surprise me). Now we had 16% innocent males and 51% innocent females, if you assume that 5% of the remaining males are on the top management, that roughly equals around 15% of the 51% women being kissed and not admitting it. 10% read slasdot (male obviously) leaving 1% what.. well we still had 36% of the women left...
  12. Fallen asleep? by alshithead · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've never fallen asleep...gone to sleep? Oh, yes. With a former employer it wasn't unusual to bust ass for 7-8 hours starting at 8 PM Saturday to get physical maintenance tasks done (after working 50 hours during the week) and then being in the position of still having several hours before server jobs I had kicked off at the start of maintenance needing to finish so I can go home. Employee lounge with nice comfortable leather sofa...here I come. Management knew and preferred that to me killing myself falling asleep behind the wheel on my way home. Still, it's funny how you can miss the fact that a traffic light is red when you are really sleep deprived. I'm very happy to have a 9-5 now.

    --
    I reserve the right to think for myself. Others' opinions are optional. Puppy on lap = typos...not illiteracy.
  13. 90% of IT workers by Kizzle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    lie on surveys.

    --
    Hacker Media
  14. So, if more men kissed at work than women... by Junta · · Score: 4, Funny

    That means... I really don't want to fall asleep around other men at work?

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    1. Re:So, if more men kissed at work than women... by that_itch_kid · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's either that, or it's the same women going for multiple guys... What I find hilarious is all the comments bagging out men, claiming x% of them lie on surveys and how its increased that number...but effectively, the higher the percentage of men kissers, the more credible the men seem...

  15. Power napping! by jacobcaz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Power napping is where it's at! Depending on the culture at your work place you may have to be a bit "sneaky" to slip in a power nap, or you may need to scarf lunch and take a quick rest in the car.

    I highly recommend it.

    1. Re:Power napping! by jollyreaper · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not built for napping. For starters, if I try to doze off it usually takes me a long time. If I'm in a boring meeting, it's much easier. Hell, if the meeting is at the end of the day and I'm just trying to hold off so I can get home, by the time I'm home I no longer feel the need. If I DO manage to sleep during the middle of the day, it usually throws me completely off. I'll end up sleeping for maybe four hours before popping awake, then I'm not able to crash at a normal time that night and I can end up sleeping extra long. I usually do seven hours but if my sleep pattern is disturbed, like with a nap, I could end up sleeping for 10 hours. It's very weird.

      I don't disbelieve the benefits of getting a good nap in, I just don't think I'm physiologically capable of it.

      --
      Kwisatz Haderach
      Sell the spice to CHOAM
      This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  16. Working for a pr0n company & Powernapping by fsckr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I used to work for a pr0n company where people were actually paid for sleeping on the job (not to mention kissing co-workers...hehe) but I guess my experience is not really that of the 'typical' IT worker... That said, I think all IT workers should take at least a one hour nap midday sometime, it makes dealing with non-IT types much easier afterward. A colleague of mine introduced me to the 30 min powernap. At 3pm when you feel tired, chug a Red Bull or a coffee and quickly take a nap, by the time the drink kicks in you should be waking up from your nap charged up and ready to take on another 3hrs or so...try it! fsckr

    --
    fsckr.com - go fusk yourself!
    1. Re:Working for a pr0n company & Powernapping by megaditto · · Score: 5, Funny

      Do you realise that unlike most of slashdotters, your boss expects you to alt-tab out of excel and into a pornsite when s/he is around?

      --
      Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
  17. Re:in your dreams by weirdcrashingnoises · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly this was a type-o. The correct statistic is that 47% of IT guys had a dream at work in which they kissed a co-worker.

    Of those 47%, 15% admitted they didn't even know the name of the person who they kissed in their dream because they have never spoken a word to the member of the opposite sex. (with the exception of their mother)

    25% admitted that they gotten close enough to see the secretaries name tag.

    Finally, 60% admitted that they thought kissing the new company servers counted as kissing a co-worker.

    --
    sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
  18. Naps! by kabdib · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As an Old Fart, I often take half hour naps in the early afternoon. I'm lucky to have worked mostly at companies with private offices (with doors that lock), but I've done this in cube farms, too.

    After thirty minutes of down-time, I grab a cup of coffee and hit the afternoon refreshed, thinking clearly and less stressed.

    Civilized societies have siestas.

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced technology is insufficiently documented.
    1. Re:Naps! by Renraku · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm 24 and nap through half of my lunch hour. Its right after you get some food in you and are looking to do some resting. People snicker at it, but they have no idea what its like for it to be 4PM and feel great instead of pulling their hair out because its almost time to go but not quite.

      --
      Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
    2. Re:Naps! by CortoMaltese · · Score: 2, Interesting

      After thirty minutes of down-time, I grab a cup of coffee and hit the afternoon refreshed, thinking clearly and less stressed. I've found that it gives me the best boost to have the coffee first, and nap before it hits the system. Wake-up and caffeine boost come simoultaneously.

      Also, I think thirty minutes is a bit long. An old boss of mine (!!!) taught me this trick: take some metallic object in your hand, such as a keyring, a stapler, whatever. Something that makes some noise but doesn't break when it hits the floor. Once you've fallen asleep and relaxed, the object will fall and wake you up. Works like a charm. Of course, YMMV.

  19. Re:Sounds like techies aren't getting enough sleep by JNighthawk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is why I wish my company either had shorter core hours, or only have core hours 4 days a week. I really have trouble falling asleep at night, but once I'm asleep, I can stay asleep just fine. If I could fall asleep on my own time and come in on my own time, I'd be much more productive/code better, because I wouldn't be as tired.

    I think there's definitely something to be said for having only 4 hours of core hours a day. While everyone would still be required to work their 40 hours during the week, you'd only be required to be at work during those 4 hours, and could decide when you wanted to work the other 20 hours.

    --
    Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'.
  20. oil rigs by FudRucker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    when i was working the morning tower in the oil field (7PM to 5AM) i made about 2/3s of my paycheck sleeping in the dog house, the driller would throw an old boot on to the top of the dog house from the drilling platform when he need me, and i would have to find that boot and bring it back up to the platform...

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  21. Re:Sounds like techies aren't getting enough sleep by Vellmont · · Score: 4, Interesting


    I sleep around 10 hours a night, more on the weekends, but am still tired all the time.

    You might have sleep apnea or some other kind of sleep disorder (assuming you haven't been checked for that). You can be waking up in the middle of the night multiple times and not even realize it. I'm no expert, but if I were you I'd try to get refered to an expert. They can give you some kind of monitoring device that'll tell you how many times/night you're waking up.

    There's also special sleep clinics around the country that will observe you while you sleep and can diagnose other kinds of sleep disorders. Many doctors aren't aware of the different sleep disorders that exist. (A number of years ago I attended a speech given by a top sleep researcher given to medical professionals, so that's where my primitive knowledge comes from)

    --
    AccountKiller
  22. Re:There's always beer in the fridge. by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Funny

    Thanks for reminding me - we're out of vodka and rum at the office. Can you pick some up on the way in? And maybe some ice?

  23. Re:in your dreams by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, 35% of females have fallen asleep during the job.

    And there the IT guy gets his chance.

    --
    God spoke to me.
  24. A good tip on staying awake by Cryacin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I hear you mate. I've been in the IT industry for 15 years, and in software development for the last 8. I used to work insane hours when I ran my own show and studied at university. (Up to 20 hrs a day, 13 days a fortnight) I used to have energy, I used to have go, but that was all about adrenaline baby. That was back before 2004... I WANTED to work insane hours, but couldn't... I NEVER had energy, so I resorted to drinking fridge fulls of V. (Like red bull for those non-Australian types) But of course, like any good IT nerd, I kept on going. By about 2006 after 2 deaths in my family, I realised something. It's just not worth redlining yourself, all day every day. Yes, this situation was rather extreme, but we all suffer from it. What is the "it"? A lack of BALANCE. Balance is definitely a buzzword that's thrown around at every given opportunity, but this is what I mean by balance: If: 1. You keep on pushing your waking hours 2. You eat crap 3. You drink crap 4. You sit down in front of the PC all day, every day You are abusing your most valuable tool... your brain. NEWSFLASH!!! Your brain is part of your body. Abuse your body, transitively, you abuse your brain. I moved to Sydney after a stint of work in the US (And yes, it was hammer and tongs again) and am now working for a corporate. (Not as bad as it sounds, and no, I'm not a sellout). A friend of mine once said to me that when you live in a big city, your legs are your best form of transport. I took that to heart, and pay a bit extra to live in the gucci suburb that my employer is, but live about 3km (about 2 miles for the yanks) away from work, AND WALK THERE EVERY DAY AND HOME EVERY NIGHT. I also discovered this wonderful thing called s-l-e-e-p. Yes. Sleep. I make myself get at least 9 hrs a night, no matter what. "Oh, but I haven't got time to sleep". WRONG. You don't have time not to. You're just robbing yourself of your next day's productivity. For all those party animals out there, this applies to you too, not just the workaholics. "Unwinding" is good, but not at the cost of sleep. I can't stress this enough. I also discovered this wonderful thing called a w-e-e-k-e-n-d. Yes, a weekend. Very important. Remember the whole "Unwinding" thing I was talking about? Well, this is a good time to do it. Also, see sleep. Another good time to do that too. With this whole taking time out of my busy work schedule, you'd think that I've dropped in my productivity. Not true. My rate of productivity has increased so much, that in 5 days ~10 hrs a day work, I do MORE than when I was working 13/14 days ~14 hrs a day. IF you have to work long hours, and there is just no way around it, for god's sake. DON'T GO OUT. Sleep comes before "unwinding". Furthermore... EAT WELL. Especially during these times. If you eat well, you will be healthy. Remember your body? It's like a car. If you run it on premium, fill it with oil and take good care of it, guess what... IT WILL KEEP WORKING. If not, it will break, along with that valuable tool called your brain. By eating well, I don't mean "raw vegetables", "vegetable juice" blah blah blah crap crap crap. I mean 3 square meals a day, low on fat. Wu. How hard. Learn to like sushi, stir fry and the like. Avoid Mc Crap-alls. They just sell greaseball food units. Which brings me on to the last thing. Drinks... or should I say the wonderdrug... Caffeeine. Caffeeine keeps you awake... for now. In large enough doses, it also gives you insomnia, which in turn ROBS YOUR NEXT DAY. Stay off it unless you really need it. IT IS A DRUG. (Albeit valuable, but treat it as such.) And yes, my parents harped on me since I was 12 to live like this, my friends harped on me, several girlfriends that actually gave a damn about me said the same thing. Well, after years of stubborn denial, I have admitted defeat on all the arguments.

    --
    Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  25. Re:Sounds like techies aren't getting enough sleep by HaloZero · · Score: 4, Funny

    [ Posted from Alien Loves Predator ]

    Thursday, August 2, 2007, 11:08am ET

    CPAP Hooray

    I have sleep apnea! Wooooo! High-five.

    For a while now Elaine's been complaining about my snoring, and I believed her that I snore, but I never knew how bad it was. There'd be times in the middle of the night where she'd shove me in frustration and I'm like, "What! How could I be snoring, I've been lying here awake!" which was of course total B.S. I told her to record me one night so I could hear for myself, which she avoided for a while, but finally did using our camera in video mode. I finally learned why our bedroom furniture is always in different places in the morning and why a team of confused seismologists is always wandering around our block. And that I look cute when I'm sleeping.

    So off I went to spend a night at a sleep clinic to find out if I have the same thing that both my dad has and my brother have (being that apnea can be genetic, it was almost a foregone conclusion). Good thing I have a bemused curiosity about things like this, like the "collection" room when I went to make sure my "equipment" wasn't "shooting blanks" so I could have "money-sucking kids that won't give you a moment's peace and will draw on your walls and by the way, we'll have TWO AT A TIME which'll make life hell so GOOD LUCK."

    Except there wasn't any porn! Only a TV with just network channels so I was forced to watch "So You Think You Can Be Smarter Than a Fifth Grader Who Forgets the Lyrics or No Deal: Fiji". Shows like this are why Elaine is grateful for Pay-per-view and Netflix during the summer. At least it helped put me to sleep so the guys in white coats could start their study. Until they woke me up at 2am and said COULD YOU NOT SNORE SO LOUD YOU'RE WAKING UP THE OTHER SNORING PATIENTS.

    When I went in to see the doctor to get my results, I was already resigned to the fact that I might need to get the same surgery that my brother did, which fixed his problem. But the guy said, "your apnea is so bad, surgery wouldn't help." All right! I dodged THAT bullet. Apparently I had short breathing stoppages fifty-two times in an hour. The normal rate is about three.

    So at home, I'm now trying to wear a CPAP mask to bed to help me breathe better, stop snoring and get more restful sleep. (I get "CPAP" and "pap smear" confused, I don't even know what "pap smear" is but I know I don't want it on my face) And it's been tough so far. It's too hot and humid these days to be wearing a large mask on your face all night, especially one that needs to be tight enough so there's no air leaks, and that's blowing air at you so hard you feel like you're sky diving (or: think Jackie Chan, Operation Condor, wind tunnel). But I'm trying. Like with everything, I know I'll get used to it eventually.

    At least Elaine gets to fulfill her lifelong dream of sleeping with Darth Vader. C'mon girls, admit it, I know there's plenty of you out there.

    --
    Informatus Technologicus
  26. Lights by Hemogoblin · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's not sleeping. It's relaxen unt watchen das blinken lights.

  27. Re:Sounds like techies aren't getting enough sleep by Macgrrl · · Score: 2, Funny

    My husband has sleep apnea. When he went to the sleep clinic they marked him as a 3+ on a scal eout of 3 for level of snoring.

    It's only since we started watching House that he realised what the face mask really looks like. What he doesn't appreaciate/experience is the jet of cold/sweaty air being blown in his face/do the back of his neck all night.

    We use the air condition for maybe 35% of the year because I need a blanket all year around to act as a wind break and to hide under.

    --
    Sara
    Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
  28. Re:I kissed someone at work by ResidntGeek · · Score: 2, Funny

    On slashdot? You bet your ass it counts for something, most posters haven't done half that!

    --
    ResidntGeek
  29. Lies, damned lies, and Slashdot statistics by MoxFulder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    According to a new online survey by Harris Interactive, more than half of IT workers say they've fallen asleep at work ... Forty-nine percent of male techies say they've fallen asleep at work, while only 35 percent of women admitted doing so. Hmmm... less than half of male techs have fallen asleep at work, and less than half of female techs have fallen asleep at work.

    And yet, somehow, more than half of all techs have fallen asleep at work. Gosh, that's interesting. Those non-male non-female techs sure must do a lot of sleeping on the job!
    --
    My bicyles
    1. Re:Lies, damned lies, and Slashdot statistics by l0b0 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Didn't you get the memo? Sleeping transvestites are all the rage in the office these days.

    2. Re:Lies, damned lies, and Slashdot statistics by FatAlb3rt · · Score: 4, Funny

      I ran the numbers myself and yes, it is over half. Here, open this file and see for yourself:
      Attached: ITworkerData.xls [Filetype: Excel 2007]

  30. tech+kissing=crimes against nature by marxzed · · Score: 2, Funny

    what is this thing you call "kissing"... I don't remember that being covered in my CS course (must have been that lecture I slept through after drinking all night in the computer lab while trying to run "man woman" command

  31. simple explanation by BitterAndDrunk · · Score: 4, Funny
    They left out eunuchs programmers.

    or is that spelled unix?

    --
    You better watch out, there may be dogs about . . .
  32. Re:The IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Quick, someone dial 01189998819991197253!

  33. Re:Organizational Productivity & European Unem by syntaxglitch · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm not sure I understand the later concept -- how can organizational productivity be maximized if individual productivity is compromised?

    Even if individual productivity per hour is lower, people are working more hours. Let's say that, on average, the individual does 5 units of work per hour with a 35hr week, but only 4.5 units/hr with a 45 hour week. In the first case, the worker is more efficient and accomplishes 175 total units. In the second case, his average productivity is lower, but the total is 202.5. As the hours per week increase, each additional hour adds progressively less to the final total--perhaps at a 60 hour week, he gets only 3 units per hour done, making the week's total only 180, less than if he'd worked only 45 hours.

    This is simplified for the sake of example, of course. Obviously this only applies to salaried workers, as well. For workers paid hourly, the company benefits more by LIMITING the hours worked to the personal productivity peak, because it means they get more value for the money spent.

    This is really pretty interesting, though. It might also speak to what I've always thought was a paradox regarding European unemployment. Theoretically, because of the increased vacation time and less demanding schedules, an organization might need to hire more workers to keep the number of man-hours the same. But if the workers are actually more productive per hour of work with a lighter schedule, an organization might neither need more workers or more worker time....

    They'll still get less done overall than people on a typical American schedule, of course, but not as much less as one would at first think.

    Also, communication and organizational overhead often makes adding more staff less helpful than one would think. For details, read The Mythical Man-Month, something else that foolish management often ignores.